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EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL REGIONAL AND URBAN POLICY Administrative Capacity Building and Programme Implementation II

CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2020CE16BAT012

Support for citizen engagement in the implementation of cohesion policy

1. INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND

Under this Call, the Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy

(DG REGIO) seeks to select potential beneficiaries for the implementation of innovative

actions or tools to engage citizens in cohesion policy, co-financed by the EU.

2. OBJECTIVE(S) – THEME(S) – PRIORITIES

The general objective of this call is to encourage and support citizen engagement in

cohesion policy for better implementation and a stronger sense of ownership of its results

among citizens.

The specific objective is to support projects that provide citizens/civil society

organisations (CSOs) efficient means to actively participate in the design and/or

implementation and/or monitoring of cohesion policy. The selected projects will promote

active participation of citizens at the level of an operational programme, of a policy

objective covered by the programme and/or of a specific objective1. The selection will be

done based on the quality of the proposal and planned activities.

Priority will be given to project proposals that will:

- Develop new tools or actions that support citizen engagement in cohesion policy;

and/or

- Support scaling up of existing tools or activities for strengthening and widening

citizen engagement in cohesion policy

In their proposals, interested civil society organisations should demonstrate their

commitment and organisational readiness to implement their project with the aim to

strengthen the role of citizens and/or civil society organisations in the implementation of

cohesion policy. The projects can be managed independently or in cooperation with a

managing authority or intermediate body of programme funded by the European

Regional Development Fund (ERDF) or the Cohesion Fund (CF). The selected CSO will

be the sole recipient of the grant, i.e. the beneficiary.

1 Art.2 2018/0197 (COD) Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on

the European Regional Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund

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3. TIMETABLE

Stages Date and time or indicative period

a) Deadline for submitting applications June 1 2020

b) Evaluation period (indicative) June-July 2020

c) Information to applicants (indicative) September 2020

d) Signature of grant agreements (indicative) October 2020

4. BUDGET AVAILABLE

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects under this call for proposals

is estimated at EUR 375 000.

The maximum grant will be EUR 25 000.

The Commission reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

5. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

In order to be admissible, applications must be:

sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications referred to in section 3;

submitted in writing (see section 14), using the application form available at

https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/funding-opportunities/calls-

for-proposal/ ; and

drafted in one of the EU official languages.

Failure to comply with those requirements will lead to rejection of the application.

6. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

6.1. Eligible applicants

Proposals may be submitted by non-profit organisation (private or public).

Natural persons are not eligible.

For UK applicants: Please be aware that following the entry into force of the EU-UK

Withdrawal Agreement2 on 1 February 2020 and in particular Articles 127(6), 137 and

138, the references to natural or legal persons residing or established in a Member State

of the European Union are to be understood as including natural or legal persons

residing or established in the United Kingdom. UK residents and entities are therefore

eligible to participate under this call.

2 Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the

European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community

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Affiliated entities

Entities affiliated3 to the applicants are not eligible to receive funding under this Call for

proposals.

Country of establishment

Only applications from legal entities established in the following countries are eligible:

EU Member States;

Supporting documents

In order to assess the applicants' eligibility, the following supporting documents are

requested:

private entity: extract from the official journal, copy of articles of association,

extract of trade or association register, certificate of liability to VAT (if, as in

certain countries, the trade register number and VAT number are identical, only

one of these documents is required);

public entity: copy of the resolution, decision or other official document

establishing the public-law entity ;

6.2. Eligible activities

The following types of activities are eligible under this call for proposals:

Actions aiming at the creation and/or improvement of new tools or actions to

support citizen engagement in cohesion policy

Implementation period

The maximum duration of projects is 12 months.

7. EXCLUSION CRITERIA

7.1. Exclusion

The authorising officer shall exclude an applicant from participating in call for proposals

procedures where:

(a) the applicant is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures, its assets

are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, it is in an arrangement with

creditors, its business activities are suspended, or it is in any analogous situation

arising from a similar procedure provided for under EU or national laws or

regulations;

3 In accordance with Article 187 FR, entities that satisfy the eligibility criteria and that do not fall within

one of the situations referred to in Articles 136(1) and 141(1) FR and that have a link with the

applicant, in particular a legal or capital link, which is neither limited to the action nor established for

the sole purpose of its implementation, will be considered as entities affiliated to the applicant.

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(b) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the

applicant is in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social

security contributions in accordance with the applicable law;

(c) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the

applicant is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable

laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the applicant

belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful intent or gross negligence, including,

in particular, any of the following:

(i) fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for the

verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of

eligibility or selection criteria or in the performance of a contract, a grant

agreement or a grant decision;

(ii) entering into agreement with other applicants with the aim of distorting

competition;

(iii) violating intellectual property rights;

(iv) attempting to influence the decision-making process of the Commission during the award procedure;

(v) attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue

advantages in the award procedure;

(d) it has been established by a final judgment that the applicant is guilty of any of the

following:

(i) fraud, within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the

European Parliament and of the Council and Article 1 of the Convention on

the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, drawn up by

the Council Act of 26 July 1995;

(ii) corruption, as defined in Article 4(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 or Article

3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the

European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union,

drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997, or conduct referred to in

Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, or corruption as

defined in the applicable law;

(iii) conduct related to a criminal organisation, as referred to in Article 2 of

Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;

(iv) money laundering or terrorist financing within the meaning of Article 1(3),

(4) and (5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the

Council;

(v) terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as defined in

Articles 1 and 3 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA,

respectively, or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such

offences, as referred to in Article 4 of that Decision;

(vi) child labour or other offences concerning trafficking in human beings as

referred to in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament

and of the Council;

(e) the applicant has shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations

in the performance of a contract, a grant agreement or a grant decision financed by

the Union's budget, which has led to its early termination or to the application of

liquidated damages or other contractual penalties, or which has been discovered

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following checks, audits or investigations by an authorising officer, OLAF or the

Court of Auditors;

(f) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that the

applicant has committed an irregularity within the meaning of Article 1(2) of

Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95;

(g) It has been established by a final judgement or final administrative decision that the

applicant has created an entity in a different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent

fiscal, social or any other legal obligations of mandatory application in the

jurisdiction of its registered office, central administration or principal place of

business;

(h) it has been established by a final judgement or final administrative decision that an

entity has been created with the intent referred to in point (g);

(i) for the situations referred to in points (c) to (h) above, the applicant is subject to:

(i) facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out by

European Public Prosecutor's Office after its establishment, the Court of

Auditors, the European Anti-Fraud Office or the internal auditor, or any other

check, audit or control performed under the responsibility of an authorising

officer of an EU institution, of a European office or of an EU agency or body;

(ii) non-final judgments or non-final administrative decisions which may include

disciplinary measures taken by the competent supervisory body responsible

for the verification of the application of standards of professional ethics;

(iii) facts referred to in decisions of persons or entities being entrusted with EU

budget implementation tasks;

(iv) information transmitted by Member States implementing Union funds;

(v) decisions of the Commission relating to the infringement of Union

competition law or of a national competent authority relating to the

infringement of Union or national competition law; or

(vi) decisions of exclusion by an authorising officer of an EU institution, of a

European office or of an EU agency or body.

7.2. Remedial measures

If an applicant declares one of the situations of exclusion listed above (see section 7.4), it

must indicate the measures it has taken to remedy the exclusion situation, thus

demonstrating its reliability. This may include e.g. technical, organisational and

personnel measures to correct the conduct and prevent further occurrence, compensation

of damage or payment of fines or of any taxes or social security contributions. The

relevant documentary evidence which illustrates the remedial measures taken must be

provided in annex to the declaration. This does not apply for situations referred in

point (d) of section 7.1.

7.3. Rejection from the call for proposals

The authorising officer shall not award a grant to an applicant who:

(a) is in an exclusion situation established in accordance with section 7.1; or

(b) has misrepresented the information required as a condition for participating in the

procedure or has failed to supply that information; or

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(c) was previously involved in the preparation of documents used in the award

procedure where this entails a breach of the principle of equal treatment, including

distortion of competition, that cannot be remedied otherwise.

Administrative sanctions (exclusion) may be imposed on applicants, if any of the

declarations or information provided as a condition for participating in this procedure

prove to be false.

7.4. Supporting documents

Applicants must provide a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one

of the situations referred to in Articles 136(1) and 141 FR, by filling in the relevant form

attached to the application form accompanying the call for proposals and available at

https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/funding-opportunities/calls-for-

proposal/

8. SELECTION CRITERIA

8.1. Financial capacity

Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity

throughout the duration of the grant and to participate in its funding. The applicants'

financial capacity will be assessed on the basis of a declaration on their honour.

8.2. Operational capacity

Applicants must have the professional competencies as well as appropriate qualifications

necessary to complete the proposed action. In this respect, applicants have to submit a

declaration on their honour, and the following supporting documents:

curriculum vitae or description of the profile of the people primarily responsible

for managing and implementing the operation (accompanied where appropriate,

like in the field of research and education, by a list of relevant publications);

an exhaustive lists of previous projects and activities performed and connected to

the policy field of a given call or to the actions to be carried out;

9. AWARD CRITERIA

Eligible applications/projects will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

Criteria Elements to be taken into

consideration

Weighting (points)

1 Consistency with the

objectives of the call for

proposals

This criterion evaluates to which

extent:

The objective(s) of the project

correspond to the general and

specific objectives of the Call for

proposals

The project demonstrates a clear

link to the implementation of

25 points (minimum 13 points

threshold)

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cohesion policy

2 Quality of the activity

plan of the project

This criterion evaluates to which

extent:

The proposed activities, working

methods and resources are

coherent with the objectives of

the project.

The project uses new working

methods or proposes innovative

activities to involve citizens

coming from varied professional

and social backgrounds.

The project uses a cost-effective

approach in terms of the

proposed resources, taking into

account costs as well as expected

results

25 points (minimum 13 points

threshold)

3 Sustainability of the

project

This criterion evaluates to which

extent:

The proposed projects/activities

are realistic and sustainable,

reaching medium- or long-term

results.

There are possibilities for a

continuation of the project

beyond the end of the requested

support

15 points (minimum 8 points

threshold)

4 Dissemination strategy This criterion evaluates to which

extent:

The objectives are specific,

measurable, attainable and

relevant in terms of outreach and

dissemination

A realistic dissemination plan is

in place in order to allow an

effective transfer of the project

results to other CSOs and

managing authorities.

15 points (minimum 8 points

threshold)

5 Impact and Citizen

involvement

This criterion evaluates to which

extent:

The project aims at a number of

participants involved that is large

enough to ensure a real outreach.

A balance is sought between

citizens who are already active

and citizens who are not yet

involved.

The proposed project can be

replicated elsewhere or serve as

20 points (minimum 10 points

threshold)

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inspiration for others CSOs.

The proposed project contributes

directly to shape the

implementation of EU cohesion

policy.

10. LEGAL COMMITMENTS

In the event of a grant awarded by the Commission, a grant agreement drawn up in euro

and detailing the conditions and level of funding, will be sent to the applicant, as well as

the information on the procedure to formalise the agreement of the parties.

Two copies of the original agreement must be signed first by the beneficiary/coordinator

on behalf of the consortium and returned to the Commission immediately. The

Commission will sign it last.

11. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

11.1. Forms of the grant

11.1.1 Reimbursement of costs actually incurred

The grant will be defined by applying a maximum co-financing rate of 85% to the

eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the beneficiary.

For details on eligibility of costs, please refer to section 11.2.

11.1.2 Reimbursement of eligible costs declared on the basis of a flat-rate

The grant will be defined by applying a maximum co-financing rate of 85% to the

eligible costs declared by the beneficiary on the basis of:

(a) a flat rate of 7% of the eligible direct costs (‘reimbursement of flat-rate costs’)

for the following categories of costs: indirect costs.

The flat rate will be paid following acceptance of the costs to which the flat

rate is to be applied.

11.2. Eligible costs

Eligible costs shall meet all the following criteria:

they are incurred by the beneficiary.

they are incurred during the duration of the action, with the exception of costs

relating to final reports and audit certificates;

o The period of eligibility of costs will start as specified in the grant

agreement.

o If a beneficiary can demonstrate the need to start the action before the

agreement is signed, the costs eligibility period may start before that

signature. Under no circumstances can the eligibility period start before

the date of submission of the grant application.

they are indicated in the estimated budget of the action;

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they are necessary for the implementation of the action which is the subject of the

grant;

they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting

records of the beneficiary and determined according to the applicable accounting

standards of the country where the beneficiary is established and according to the

usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiary;

they comply with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation;

they are reasonable, justified, and comply with the principle of sound financial

management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency.

The beneficiary's internal accounting and auditing procedures must permit direct

reconciliation of the costs and revenue declared in respect of the action/project with the

corresponding accounting statements and supporting documents.

Eligible costs may be direct or indirect.

11.2.1. Eligible direct costs

The eligible direct costs for the action are those costs which:

with due regard to the conditions of eligibility set out above, are identifiable as

specific costs directly linked to the performance of the action and which can therefore be

booked to it directly, such as :

(a) the costs of personnel working under an employment contract with the beneficiary

or an equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action, provided that these

costs are in line with the beneficiary’s usual policy on remuneration.

Those costs include actual salaries plus social security contributions and other

statutory costs included in the remuneration. They may also comprise additional

remunerations, including payments on the basis of supplementary contracts

regardless of the nature of those contracts, provided that they are paid in a

consistent manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required,

independently from the source of funding used;

The costs of natural persons working under a contract with the beneficiary other

than an employment contract or who are seconded to the beneficiary by a third

party against payment may also be included under such personnel costs, provided

that the following conditions are fulfilled:

(i) the person works under conditions similar to those of an employee (in

particular regarding the way the work is organised, the tasks that are

performed and the premises where they are performed);

(ii) the result of the work belongs to the beneficiary (unless exceptionally

agreed otherwise); and

(iii) the costs are not significantly different from the costs of staff

performing similar tasks under an employment contract with the

beneficiary;

The recommended methods for the calculation of direct personnel costs are provided

in Appendix.

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(b) costs of travel and related subsistence allowances, provided that these costs are in

line with the beneficiary’s usual practices on travel;

(c) the depreciation costs of equipment or other assets (new or second-hand) as

recorded in the beneficiary’s accounting statements, provided that the asset:

(i) is written off in accordance with the international accounting standards

and the beneficiary’s usual accounting practices; and

(ii) has been purchased in accordance with the rules on implementation

contracts laid down in the grant agreement, if the purchase occurred

within the implementation period;

The costs of renting or leasing equipment or other assets are also eligible,

provided that these costs do not exceed the depreciation costs of similar equipment

or assets and are exclusive of any finance fee;

Only the portion of the equipment’s depreciation, rental or lease costs

corresponding to the implementation period and the rate of actual use for the

purposes of the action may be taken into account when determining the eligible

costs. By way of exception, the full cost of purchase of equipment may be eligible

under the Special Conditions, if this is justified by the nature of the action and the

context of the use of the equipment or assets;

(d) costs of consumables and supplies, provided that they:

(i) are purchased in accordance with the rules on implementation

contracts laid down in the grant agreement; and

(ii) are directly assigned to the action;

(e) costs arising directly from requirements imposed by the Agreement (dissemination

of information, specific evaluation of the action, audits, translations,

reproduction), including the costs of requested financial guarantees, provided that

the corresponding services are purchased in accordance with the rules on

implementation contracts laid down in the grant agreement;

(f) costs derived from subcontracts, provided that specific conditions on

subcontracting as laid down in the grant agreement are met;

(g) costs of financial support to third parties, provided that the conditions laid down in

the grant agreement are met;

(h) duties, taxes and charges paid by the beneficiary, notably value added tax (VAT),

provided that they are included in eligible direct costs, and unless specified

otherwise in the grant agreement.

11.2.2. Eligible indirect costs (overheads)

Indirect costs are costs that are not directly linked to the action implementation and

therefore cannot be attributed directly to it.

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A flat-rate amount of 7% of the total eligible direct costs of the action, is eligible as

indirect costs, representing the beneficiary's general administrative costs which can be

regarded as chargeable to the action/project.

Indirect costs may not include costs entered under another budget heading.

Applicants’ attention is drawn to the fact that if they are receiving an operating

grant financed by the EU or Euratom budget, they may not declare indirect costs

for the period(s) covered by the operating grant, unless they can demonstrate that

the operating grant does not cover any costs of the action.

In order to demonstrate this, in principle, the beneficiary should:

a. use analytical cost accounting that allows to separate all costs (including

overheads) attributable to the operating grant and the action grant. For that

purpose the beneficiary should use reliable accounting codes and allocation keys

ensuring that the allocation of the costs is done in a fair, objective and realistic

way.

b. record separately:

all costs incurred for the operating grants (i.e. personnel, general running

costs and other operating costs linked to the part of its usual annual activities),

and

all costs incurred for the action grants (including the actual indirect costs

linked to the action)

If the operating grant covers the entire usual annual activity and budget of the

beneficiary, the latter is not entitled to receive any indirect costs under the action grant.

11.3. Ineligible costs

The following items are not considered as eligible costs:

a) return on capital and dividends paid by a beneficiary;

b) debt and debt service charges;

c) provisions for losses or debts;

d) interest owed;

e) doubtful debts;

f) exchange losses;

g) costs of transfers from the Commission charged by the bank of a beneficiary;

h) costs declared by the beneficiary under another action receiving a grant financed

from the Union budget. Such grants include grants awarded by a Member State

and financed from the Union budget and grants awarded by bodies other than the

Commission for the purpose of implementing the Union budget. In particular,

beneficiaries receiving an operating grant financed by the EU or Euratom budget

cannot declare indirect costs for the period(s) covered by the operating grant,

unless they can demonstrate that the operating grant does not cover any costs of

the action.

i) contributions in kind from third parties;

j) excessive or reckless expenditure;

k) deductible VAT.

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11.4. Balanced budget

The estimated budget of the action must be attached to the application form. It must have

revenue and expenditure in balance.

The budget must be drawn up in euros.

Applicants for whom costs will not be incurred in euros should use the exchange rate

published on the Infor-euro website available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/inforeuro/inforeuro_en.cfm

The applicant must ensure that the resources which are necessary to carry out the action

are not entirely provided by the EU grant.

Co-financing of the action may take the form of:

the beneficiary's own resources,

income generated by the action or work programme,

financial contributions from third parties.

11.5. Calculation of the final grant amount

The final amount of the grant is calculated by the Commission at the time of the payment

of the balance. The calculation involves the following steps:

Step 1 —Application of the reimbursement rate to the eligible costs and

addition of the flat-rate

The amount under step 1 is obtained by applying the reimbursement rate specified in

section 11.1.1 to the eligible costs actually incurred and accepted by the Commission,

including costs declared in the form of flat rates to which the co-financing rate applies in

accordance with section 11.1.2.

Step 2 — Limit to the maximum amount of the grant

The total amount paid to the beneficiaries by the Commission may in no circumstances

exceed the maximum amount of the grant as indicated in the grant agreement. If the

amount obtained following Step 1 is higher than this maximum amount, the final amount

of the grant is limited to the latter.

If volunteers' work is declared as part of direct eligible costs, the final amount of the

grant is limited to the amount of total eligible costs approved by the Commission minus

the amount of volunteers' work approved by the Commission.

Step 3 — Reduction due to improper implementation or breach of other

obligations

The Commission may reduce the maximum amount of the grant if the action has not been

implemented properly (i.e. if it has not been implemented or has been implemented

poorly, partially or late), or if another obligation under the Agreement has been breached.

The amount of the reduction will be proportionate to the degree to which the action has

been implemented improperly or to the seriousness of the breach.

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11.6. Reporting and payment arrangements

11.6.1 Payment arrangements

The beneficiary may request the following payments provided that the conditions of the

grant agreement are fulfilled (e.g. payment deadlines, ceilings, etc.). The payment

requests shall be accompanied by the documents provided below and detailed in the grant

agreement:

Payment request Accompanying documents

A pre-financing payment corresponding to

60 % of the maximum grant amount

Payment of the balance

The Commission will establish the amount of

this payment on the basis of the calculation of

the final grant amount (see section 11.5 above).

If the total of earlier payments is higher than

the final grant amount, the beneficiary will be

required to reimburse the amount paid in

excess by the Commission through a recovery

order.

(a) final technical report

(b) final financial statement

(c) summary financial statement

aggregating the financial

statements already submitted

previously and indicating the

receipts

11.7. Other financial conditions

a) Non-cumulative award

An action may only receive one grant from the EU budget.

Under no circumstances shall the same costs be financed twice by the Union

budget. To ensure this, applicants shall indicate in the grant application the

sources and amounts of Union funding received or applied for the same action or

part of the action or for its (the applicant's) functioning during the same financial

year as well as any other funding received or applied for the same action.

b) Non-retroactivity

No grant may be awarded retrospectively for actions already completed.

A grant may be awarded for an action which has already begun only where the

applicant can demonstrate in the grant application the need to start the action

before the grant agreement is signed.

In such cases, costs eligible for financing may not have been incurred prior to the

date of submission of the grant application.

c) Implementation contracts/subcontracting

Where the implementation of the action requires the award of procurement

contracts (implementation contracts), the beneficiary may award the contract in

accordance with its usual purchasing practices provided that the contract is

awarded to the tender offering best value for money or the lowest price (as

appropriate), avoiding conflicts of interest.

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The beneficiary is expected to clearly document the tendering procedure and

retain the documentation in the event of an audit.

Beneficiaries may subcontract tasks forming part of the action. If they do so, they

must ensure that, in addition to the above-mentioned conditions of best value for

money and absence of conflicts of interests, the following conditions are also

complied with:

a) subcontracting does not cover core tasks of the action;

b) recourse to subcontracting is justified because of the nature of the action and

what is necessary for its implementation;

c) the estimated costs of the subcontracting are clearly identifiable in the

estimated budget;

d) any recourse to subcontracting, if not provided for in description of the

action, is communicated by the beneficiary and approved by the Commission.

The Commission may grant approval:

(i) before any recourse to subcontracting, if the beneficiaries requests an

amendment

(ii) after recourse to subcontracting if the subcontracting:

is specifically justified in the interim or final technical report and

does not entail changes to the grant agreement which would call into

question the decision awarding the grant or be contrary to the equal

treatment of applicants;

e) the beneficiaries ensure that certain conditions applicable to beneficiaries,

enumerated in the grant agreement (e.g. visibility, confidentiality, etc.), are

also applicable to the subcontractors.

d) Financial support to third parties

The applications may not envisage provision of financial support to third parties.

12. PUBLICITY

12.1. By the beneficiaries

Beneficiaries must clearly acknowledge the European Union’s contribution in all

publications or in conjunction with activities for which the grant is used.

In this respect, beneficiaries are required to give prominence to the name and emblem of

the European Commission on all their publications, posters, programmes and other

products realised under the co-financed project.

12.2. By the Commission

With the exception of scholarships paid to natural persons and other direct support paid

to natural persons in most need, all information relating to grants awarded in the course

of a financial year shall be published on an internet site of the European Union

institutions no later than the 30 June of the year following the financial year in which the

grants were awarded.

The Commission will publish the following information:

name of the beneficiary;

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address of the beneficiary when the latter is a legal person, region when the

beneficiary is a natural person, as defined on NUTS 2 level4 if he/she is domiciled

within the EU or equivalent if domiciled outside the EU;

subject of the grant;

amount awarded.

Upon a reasoned and duly substantiated request by the beneficiary, the publication shall

be waived if such disclosure risks threatening the rights and freedoms of individuals

concerned as protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or

harm the commercial interests of the beneficiaries.

13. PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA

The reply to any call for proposals involves the recording and processing of personal data

(such as name, address and CV). Such data will be processed pursuant to

Regulation (EU) No 2018/1725 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the

processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on

the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision

No 1247/2002/EC. Unless indicated otherwise, the questions and any personal data

requested that are required to evaluate the application in accordance with the call for

proposal will be processed solely for that purpose by DG REGIO – Budget and Financial

Management.

Personal data may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System by the

Commission, should the beneficiary be in one of the situations mentioned in Articles 136

and 141 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/10465. For more information see the Privacy

Statement on:

https://ec.europa.eu/info/data-protection-public-procurement-procedures_en.

14. PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals must be submitted by the deadline set out under section 3.

No modification to the application is allowed once the deadline for submission has

elapsed. However, if there is a need to clarify certain aspects or to correct clerical

mistakes, the Commission may contact the applicant during the evaluation process.

Applicants will be informed in writing about the results of the selection process.

Application forms are available at:

https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/funding-opportunities/calls-for-

proposal/

Applications must be submitted in the correct form, duly completed and dated. They

must be signed by the person authorised to enter into legally binding commitments on

behalf of the applicant organisation.

Applications must be submitted by email in pdf format to the following email address:

REGIO-CALL-FOR-PROPOSALS@ec.europa.eu.

4 Commission Regulation (EC) No 105/2007 of 1 February 2007 amending the annexes to Regulation

(EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common

classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS), OJ L39, 10.2.2007, p.1. 5 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32018R1046

16

Evidence of submission by email will be constituted by date and time of receipt of the

email with the application attached.

By way of exception, applications may be submitted by post in 2 copies (one original

clearly identified as such, plus 1 copy).

Applications in paper format must be sent:

by post (evidence will be constituted by the postmark),

by hand-delivery (evidence will be constituted by the acknowledgement of

receipt), or

by courier service (evidence will be constituted by the acknowledgement of

receipt by courier service).

Applications in paper format must be sent to the following address:

Means of

submission

Time limit Address for delivery

Post 23:59 CET

European Commission

DG REGIO – Unit A3 – TA Cell

(NOT BE OPENED BY THE CENTRAL MAIL SERVICE)

Call for proposals 2020CE16BAT012 BU-1 00/111

B-1049 Brussels

BELGIUM

Courier 23:59 CET

European Commission

DG REGIO – Unit A3 – TA Cell

(NOT BE OPENED BY THE CENTRAL MAIL SERVICE)

Call for proposals 2020CE16BAT012

BU-1 00/111

Avenue du Bourget, no 1/Bourgetlaan 1

B-1140 Brussels

BELGIUM

In person

(hand

delivery) 23:59 CET

European Commission

DG REGIO – Unit A3 – TA Cell

(NOT BE OPENED BY THE CENTRAL MAIL SERVICE)

Call for proposals 2020CE16BAT012

BU-1 00/111

Avenue du Bourget, no 1/Bourgetlaan 1

B-1140 Brussels

BELGIUM

Mail can be received from 07.30 to 17.30 Monday to Fridays. The service is closed on

Saturdays, Sundays and official holidays of the contracting authority.

Applications sent by fax will not be accepted.

17

Contacts

Any additional specific questions related to this call may be addressed to REGIO-

CONTRACTS@ec.europa.eu. In order to ensure an efficient handling of any enquiry

please indicate clearly the reference of this call for proposals.

The answers to the questions submitted will be published in the Q&A list at

https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/funding-opportunities/calls-for-

proposal/ to ensure equal treatment of all potential applicants. Questions may be sent by

to the above address no later than 10 days before the deadline for the submission of

proposals.

Annexes:

Application form

Checklist of documents to be provided

Model grant agreement

Declaration on honour

18

Appendix

Specific conditions for direct personnel costs

1. Calculation

The ways of calculating eligible direct personnel costs laid down in points (a) and (b)

below are recommended and accepted as offering assurance as to the costs declared being

actual.

The Commission may accept a different method of calculating personnel costs used by

the beneficiary, if it considers that it offers an adequate level of assurance of the costs

declared being actual.

a) for persons working exclusively on the action:

{monthly rate for the person

multiplied by

number of actual months worked on the action}

The months declared for these persons may not be declared for any other EU or Euratom

grant.

The monthly rate is calculated as follows:

{annual personnel costs for the person

divided by 12}

using the personnel costs for each full financial year covered by the reporting period

concerned.

If a financial year is not closed at the end of the reporting period, the beneficiaries must

use the monthly rate of the last closed financial year available;

b) for persons working part time on the action

(i) If the person is assigned to the action at a fixed pro-rata of their working time:

{monthly rate for the person multiplied by pro-rata assigned to the action

multiplied by

number of actual months worked on the action}

The working time pro-rata declared for these persons may not be declared for any other

EU or Euratom grant.

The monthly rate is calculated as above.

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(ii) In other cases:

{hourly rate for the person multiplied by number of actual hours worked on the action}

or

{daily rate for the person multiplied by number of actual days worked on the action}

(rounded up or down to the nearest half-day)

The number of actual hours/days declared for a person must be identifiable and

verifiable.

The total number of hours/days declared in EU or Euratom grants, for a person for a year,

cannot be higher than the annual productive hours/days used for the calculations of the

hourly/daily rate. Therefore, the maximum number of hours/days that can be declared for

the grant are:

{number of annual productive hours/days for the year (see below)

minus

total number of hours and days declared by the beneficiary, for that person for that year,

for other EU or Euratom grants}.

The ‘hourly/daily rate’ is calculated as follows:

{annual personnel costs for the person

divided by

number of individual annual productive hours/days} using the personnel costs and the

number of annual productive hours/days for each full financial year covered by the

reporting period concerned.

If a financial year is not closed at the end of the reporting period, the beneficiaries must

use the hourly/daily rate of the last closed financial year available.

The ‘number of individual annual productive hours/days’ is the total actual hours/days

worked by the person in the year. It may not include holidays and other absences (such as

sick leave, maternity leave, special leave, etc). However, it may include overtime and

time spent in meetings, trainings and other similar activities.

2. Documentation to support personnel costs declared as actual costs

For persons working exclusively on the action, where the direct personnel costs are

calculated following point (a), there is no need to keep time records, if the beneficiary

signs a declaration confirming that the persons concerned have worked exclusively on

the action.

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For persons assigned to the action at a fixed pro-rata of their working time, where

the direct personnel costs are calculated following point (b)(i), there is no need to keep

time records, if the beneficiary signs a declaration that the persons concerned have

effectively worked at the fixed pro-rata on the action.

For persons working part time on the action, where direct personnel costs are

calculated following point (b)(ii), the beneficiaries must keep time records for the

number of hours/days declared. The time records must be in writing and approved by the

persons working on the action and their supervisors, at least monthly.

In the absence of reliable time records of the hours worked on the action, the

Commission may accept alternative evidence supporting the number of hours/days

declared, if it considers that it offers an adequate level of assurance.